Asira Tarannum (MID-DAY; January 8, 2015)

That Bollywood is a ruthless industry with undertones of indifference and dispassion is no secret. But, Kabir Khan seems to have his heart in the right place. Bucking the usual practice of delaying compensation to bereaved families of workers, the filmmaker acted quickly when a lightman on the sets of Bajrangi Bhaijaan died of cardiac arrest last month.

A source close to the unit says since the hectic shoot schedule, the 38-year-old worker, Munib Ansari, was on duty round the clock and suffered a heart attack. Within 10 days of the death, Khan cleared his dues and offered compensation to his wife who lives in a village near Mumbai. “Generally, compensations take a long time to be delivered but in this case, Kabir Khan showed he has high ethical standards by handing over a cheque of R 8.40 lakh to his wife Zainab Khatoon,” the source suggests.

Rakesh Maurya, joint secretary of the Allied Mazdoor Union, says, “This has been the quickest compensation and payment made to the family of a deceased worker. Otherwise, they are made to wait endlessly. Ansari’s dues amounted to Rs 62,100 and the rest was compensation.”

Khan remained unavailable for comment.